I won a Doe Tag for this area. Anyone have any pointers?

Good luck sir

Ditto. Never been, and not sure if I’m going to take a trip during archery or just full send for a handful of days during general.

Buddy of mine bought permit last year thinking teh new lake may have pushed more deer that way He didnt have any luck at all. Always been pretty tough to hunt that area. Lots of timber

I hunted out there a few times. I actually killed my only public land bow deer there. Best advice would be scouting. I spent more time preseason scouting than I did actually hunting. But as it's already bow season, it's a bit late for that.

Which area are you planning to hunt? Bois D'Arc or Ladonia? My advise would be to hunt during the week if possible. Find neighboring feeders.

Good luck fellas

The Forest Service just did a prescribed burn on most of the contiguous main section.
Some spots were still smoking yesterday.
https://www.kxii.com/2021/10/18/fannin-county-prescribed-burn-starts-monday/

Good luck,
SFH

Well, this could be a blessing to everybody hunting adjacent lands this season!

Yep. Burned some ~8000 acres in the middle of bow season.
Most of the contiguous main section.

Timing is everything…

Good Luck,
SFH

Anyone ever rabbit/squirrel hunted out here?

I've been out there twice to North unit to scout...found lots of hog activity but have yet to see a deer.

They are doing some construction on the south end and making lots of noise.

The first time I watched the rancher burn fields where we leased, I was shocked to see the number of deer all over the fields that were still burning. They loved whatever they were eating on and starting using it to cross sections, like driving a new car for humans. Part of it could have been all the soil that they turned over prior to burning. Regardless it is great for wildlife.